Saint Mary Church of Ardebil

The general shape of the brick building of the church is rectangular and its internal shape is square with four high arches. This building has a truncated arch on which an umbrella-shaped brick dome is placed. There are some windows just below the dome that direct the outside light into the church during the daytime. There are also some tombs in the churchyard the tombstones of which have been decorated with a cross.

The altar of the church is located in the eastern part of the building and has been decorated with paintings in the form of citrons and with light green and orange color flowers on an azure background. Some decorations can also be seen at the bottom of the church walls. The wooden door of the church that has been decorated with beautiful geometric designs, is inscribed with a phrase written in Armenian script written with pieces cut from straw, which says: “This is the door of the true house of God, which is presented to the Church of the Saint Mary Church by Agalus Malik Mirzayans”.

This church was active until the year 1944 CE in which the last religious ceremony and congregational prayer were performed. Later on and due to the migration of Armenian families to Tabriz and Tehran, holding religious ceremonies in this church came to an end. Some parts of this church, including the bath and the school, have been destroyed, and this historical monument is being used for some other purposes after undergoing restoration.